Egged on by his mates, 17-year-old student Tom, from Kent, performed headlong dives on demand to cheer up arrivals trudging through the sodden 900-acre site.

Countless efforts left him caked in mud from head to toe, with dairy farm sludge stuck in the braces on his teeth.

But he declared with a grin: 'If I run out of clothes, I'll just do it naked.'His dives received roars of approval from hundreds of onlookers along with the group of friends he was camping with.

Best friend Callum Burgess, also 17, said: 'I'm supposed to share a tent with him but he can sleep outside. Look at the state of him.'

Clouds cleared over the Pilton hills last night, but the rain returned this morning and is due for a reprise later today - the best weather is not expected until Sunday.

Tent city: Aerial view of the Glastonbury Festival taken today. Over the course of a few days Glastonbury becomes the home to thousands of party goers creating a temporary town twice the size of the city of Bath

More than half the ticket-holders for the sold out event will have squelched their way to the site by tonight.

This year's event sees U2, Coldplay and Beyonce headline.

Treacherous conditions: Festival goers traipse through the mud around an ice cream van at the Glastonbury Festival

But early arrivals' efforts to secure prize camping spots were confounded by yesterday's monsoon-like conditions.

Hundreds of tents were flooded withing a few hours as torrential downpours began shortly after gates opened and fans began streaming in.

Campers hauling their bags and beers along the slippery thoroughfares were even told to pitch tents on hills to escape the worst of the wet conditions.

Marc Saunders, 31, from Bath, pitched his tent in driving rain with his five-year-old daughter Sam and wife Sarah.

He said: 'We say it's "go hard or go home". We're thrilled to be here, the place is magical - even in the mud.'

Go hard or go home: Muddy revellers chill out at the stone circle during the evening celebrations at Glastonbury last night

Another early arrival, 19-year-old James Street, from Belfast, was caked in mud from head to toe after slipping in a puddle.

He said: 'I'm drenched, obviously. But it's great just to be here with my pals. Legendary place, legendary line-up.

'We're not interested in the headliners - there's so much more to see.'

The first of the main acts take to the Pyramid Stage tomorrow, when the wet weather is expected to return.

Among a host of theatrical events at the site will be Glastonbury's own version of La Tomatina.

Other new elements for this year include The Spirit of 71 stage, with acts that played at the festival 40 years ago.

Beyonce, who fell in love with the Somerset festival after watching husband Jay-Z perform three years ago, is believed to have cleared her diary to party in Pilton over three days.

Rapper Jay-Z is even money with bookmakers Ladbrokes to join his wife on stage this Sunday.